San Francisco
by DriveItLikeYouStoleIt007
Summary: Shorts of what happened while Sam was in San Francisco. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

It was the first day of school for the students of a San Francisco middle school.

This was probably why it took the students a few hours to notice the new girl. Or, more remarkably, the fact that the teachers never made her remove the dark gray knit beanie on her head.

By lunch time, various speculations had been made about the girl, Sam, as some of the more nosy students had found out. These ranged from "Her parents are rich and are depositing loads directly into the principals pocket" to "She might have cancer".

Sam was not oblivious to the talk, even though she was in a secluded corner of the cafeteria, scowling at everything that dared to be within her sight. She was depressed, and covering it up with anger and being standoffish.

Just yesterday, her Aunt Sue had mentioned maybe going to a stable. Sam would not admit it (twelve years of being Jake Ely's friend had ingrained this in her), but she was scared.

She knew this was no good, because someday she'll get to go home, and she'll be around horses again, and she really needed to not be afraid. So she said yes.

* * *

The third day of school (already the students were counting down) was when everyone found out why the teachers ignored Sam's beanie.

There was a substitute in English, a nasty young woman, trying to, it seemed, turn the students into soldiers.

She was not informed that Sam was allowed to wear the hat, so when she walked into the classroom, the teacher stopped her and asked for the hat, informing Sam icily, "You know the school rules."

Sam raised a brow, _really_ not in the mood for this, and informed the teacher that she had special permission.

The teacher laughed contemptuously, well aware that the students were watching the display with rapt attention. She held out her hand less than patiently, and demanded once again, "I'm sure. Hand it over."

Sam raised the other brow, and went to move around the sub, airily saying, "You don't believe me, take it up with the principal. I have permission. I'm not taking it off just because you don't know what you're talking about."

The teacher mirrored Sam's movements, face turning red. Through clenched teeth, she hissed, "Either you hand that hat over right now, or you're getting detention!"

Sam's chin lifted at the dare. "I'm not wearing a hat; it's a beanie." She said cheekily. She could practically see the steam coming out of the teacher's ears.

Two of the students sat up straighter, eyeing the new girl critically. They shared a look, and as one stood up to stand beside Sam.

"Excuse me," The tall brunette interrupted, her shorter, blue-haired, friend following behind. "But, it is true," She stated delicately. Her friend hid a smile at the deceptive tone. "She _is_ allowed to wear the beanie in class. None of the teachers tell her to take it off."

The sub appraised this new addition to the conversation. She was tall, and green-eyed. She didn't really seem like she was lying, especially since the teacher could see the other students behind her nodding confirmation.

What she didn't know was that the blue-haired girl was giving them a glare to get them to do so; otherwise, they'd have sat there and watched blood be drawn.

The sub pursed her lips in a displeased fashion before looking at the girl in front of her.

"Alright. Detention." She stated turning to the desk, nonverbally dismissing the girls. Sam's jaw dropped and it looked as though she was about to start protesting, but Pam slapped a hand over her mouth, and Leo grabbed her arm to drag her to the seat next to them.

* * *

During lunch Sam sat in the principal's office explaining what had happened in English. Not for her sake, but because the teacher was being extremely insensitive.

When she walked out, she saw the two girls that had helped her in class waiting outside the office.

"Hey," the brown haired girl offered Sam a smile. "I'm Pam. This is Leo." She jerked her thumb at Leo. Leo nodded her head, smirking at the new girl.

"Sam." She answered cautiously. She didn't know why the girls had helped her in class, and she wasn't entirely sure they did it out of the kindness of their hearts. "Why'd you help me?" Leo grinned wickedly.

"You talked back. The last two days, we've been thinkin' you were a wuss, but nah, you just needed to be provoked." Leo said, with a slight Hispanic accent. It was the first time Sam had heard her talk, and for the first time, Sam noticed the blue hair and nose ring. Her brows rose. Leo didn't look like anyone she was used to, but she seemed like the type of person Sam could get to know.

Pam grinned at Sam. "That's right." She sang. "Finally, another girl who isn't afraid of breaking a nail!" She cheered. Sam's eyebrows, which had settled back to their normal position, rose again.

"And how do you get that from me talking back?" Sam asked curiously, instinctively liking these girls.

Leo waved her off. "We can just tell." Her nose crinkled with her smile as Pam danced around Sam.

"Okay. . . ." Sam said, slowly. She paused for a moment, before taking off the beanie.

To the girls' credit, they didn't react, even though they were a little shocked to see that the red head's head was shaved, a bright white bandage over one side.

Unbeknownst to the three, Lacy Morgan, a girl Pam and Leo couldn't stand, was at the end of the hall, watching. Upon seeing Sam's head, she immediately gasped, and scampered off to the cafeteria.

Leo's patience broke first. "What happened?" Pam elbowed her for her insensitivity, but Sam waved her off.

"I got stepped on by a horse." That was putting it mildly.

And thus, the three became friends.

* * *

**So, I'm not completely happy with this, but I thought it would be cool. And only Leo is mine. :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: If I have to write disclaimer, do you really think I own it?**

* * *

"You know, I've been thinking." Sam said contemplatively, staring at Leo's head. "That color is the exact same shade of Thing 1 and Thing 2's hair." Leo smiled in a self-satisfied manner.

"That's what I was going for. I'm gonna have to re-dye it soon, probably next week. I was thinking neon purple." Leo stated, picking up a couple of French fries and popping them in her mouth.

The girls were at lunch, sitting in a relatively quiet corner of the cafeteria. Usually, they'd be outside, but it was raining, though Leo did suggest braving it anyway, just to get away from the Confections.

The Confections were a group of girls that Leo named on her first day of sharing a school with them, two years ago. It came about when they targeted her for having orange highlights in her hair and wearing a Pokémon* shirt. The girls all wore pastel colored clothing (that usually complimented another's outfit) and were so sickly-sweet in a witchy way, that Leo was immediately reminded of food.

Because Leo's mind is almost always on food or pranks.

But mostly food.

And so, the Confections they were dubbed. Eventually, everyone in the school picked up on it, even the teachers, and had to catch themselves from saying it to the girls' faces directly, lest they be forever shunned.

Unless you were Leo, Pam, and, now, Sam.

It was one of the Confections (Lacy Morgan), who'd told the student body that Sam had a head injury. This did not endear her or her friends (who had started a fashion trend by wearing cute, little, pastel colored and sometimes food shaped beanies in between classes) to the girls.

There had been no confrontation until this day about it though.

"So, how is your hair not dead?" Sam asked, chewing slowly on a rubbery "hamburger". Leo patted her hair and pulled a lock between her fingers contemplatively.

"I use a variety of hair-," Leo was cut off as three shapes stood over their table.

Pam looked up from the science textbook in front of her (she was way behind from being sick), Sam froze with a French fry on the way to her mouth, and Leo's hand crushed the soda can in her hand, causing the contents to overflow and spill down her hand.

"Well, if it isn't Giant and Dwarf and their new friend Baldy." While not particularly mean insults they were said with all the venom that one could muster while still using an I'm-so-sweet-and-innocent tone.

Leo let go of her grip on the can and smacked her lips. Pam shut her book and sat up straighter. They looked like they were ready to pounce on the girls before them.

Sam just raised an eyebrow. "Do you know how many people you've just alienated? And considering why my head's shaved, which you well know, I should think you'd be more sensitive to it." Sam said calmly.

Leo's eyes never left the Confections.

"Oh, Sam, you have so much to learn. They know exactly what they're saying. That's why they're called the Confections." Leo paused. "Too much nice and you'll get a cavity."

The girls (individually known as Naomi Redding, Lacy Morgan, and Tasha Sword), sneered in a way that made it look more like they were smiling in an aren't-you-too-cute fashion, making Leo grit her teeth and Pam snatch the back of Leo's bra to keep her from lunging.

Sam noted this with interest. It made sense; it prevented Leo's torso from moving much. This could be useful in the future.

She turned back to what the Confections were saying.

"Leo, that is such an interesting shade of blue!" Tasha gushed, making the other two laugh. Pam rolled her eyes and Sam looked a little confused.

"Why don't you three get out of here, before I change my mind and let Leo rip your extensions out?" Pam drawled. The Confections hands immediately snapped to their hair and they backed away.

Once they were out of lunging distance, Pam let go and turned to Sam.

"You okay?" She asked. Leo turned to face them, snapping, "Of course she's okay! She wouldn't let what a bunch of-,"

"Leo," Pam warned. Leo rolled her eyes.

"I was going say 'hags'." Leo didn't finish what she was going to say before, though, and instead turned to Sam. "Why do you look so confused?" Sam shifted uncomfortably.

She felt strangely out of her depth with these girls, as she hasn't had much in the way of friends that were girls, and those that she had, she didn't see enough to make much difference.

"I was just wondering why Lacy and Naomi were laughing. It sounded like Tasha gave you a compliment." Sam shrugged.

Leo and Pam exchanged a look, making Sam even more uncomfortable and slightly annoyed.

"Well, you did say most of your friends were boys, right?" Pam didn't wait for Sam to answer. "Well, what you just witnessed was Girl Speak. What Tasha _really_ said, was something like, "Freak". It was _not_ a compliment. It never is with those girls." Leo took over the explanation.

"They've mastered the art of insulting people without actually insulting them. Completely different from sarcasm, by the way." Leo looked at Sam and Pam, from here on out to be referred to collectively as Spam.

Sam nodded her head slowly, now thinking back to all the times some girl at her old school said something to Sam that sounded _too _sincere to be honest.

"So that's what that was." She said out loud. "Jake always said I was imagining it."

Pam shook her head. "You probably weren't. Who knows for sure?" Pam shrugged. "It's not an exact science."

This ended the conversation as the girls finished eating their lunches and moved to their next class.

Math.

"Ugh, I swear, this should be considered child abuse." Sam muttered mutinously as she moved to her desk. Pam, in front of her, nodded her head sagely.

"Leo tried to sell that to the principal once. It didn't work." Pam plopped into the desk behind Sam. She was originally in front of her, but since she's so tall, she decided to switch with Sam. Leo sat on Sam's left, in front of a boy with long, dark brown hair, and a permanently droopy-eyed expression on his face.

"It was so unfair. I had a great argument and everything!" Leo scowled, crossing her arms. Sam couldn't help the giggle that escaped.

Leo and Pam were very expressive people, something she wasn't very used to. It took a while to adjust to Leo's Roman candle temper and Pam's passive aggressive attitude.

It also took her by surprise when Leo was patient with certain things that Sam thought for sure would get her blood pressure rising—such as Sam's complete ineptitude in Spanish—and Pam was extremely aggressive on the basketball court.

Though, it also holds true, that Leo and Pam were surprised when they found out that Sam was in A.P. English and regular math.

"I guess it makes sense," Leo had told her. "You do seem to be more literary and sensitive than a numbers and cold hard facts kind of girl."

That reminded Sam of something. The teacher wasn't in yet, so Sam turned to Leo and gave her a sheepish look.

"Can you help me with Spanish?" Leo was already fluent in the language, and so had to take another language course (she went with French). She nodded.

"_Por supuesto, Rojo*."_ Sam looked blankly at Leo.

Leo rolled her eyes and gave Sam an overzealous thumbs up as the teacher bustled in.

Sam leaned back in her chair, and tried to follow along with the teacher's chatter, but at the same time thinking, _Maybe San Francisco won't be so bad._

* * *

***"**_**For sure, Red." **_**It's from Google Translate. Sorry if it's wrong. I think it may be, because Sam is female and I think **_**rojo**_** is the male form, but *shrugs* I don't know for sure. **

***I don't own Pokémon either, but I seriously want a Pachirisu!**

**Hope you liked. **** Not entirely sure about this chapter either, but *shrugs yet again*.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: This isn't exactly a new perspective, but if I owned Phantom Stallion, I'd have made Sam and Jake get together by, like, the second or third book. But we all know how that really turned out, so obviously, I don't own Phantom Stallion.**

* * *

Leo banged her head against the seat in front of her.

"Leona Vasquez! Knock it off!" Leo's mother, Maribelle, snapped at her daughter. "Honestly. We're only going to your _abuelos._ It's not the end of the world."

"Say you." Leo muttered mutinously, leaning back in her seat. Her mom and dad picked their conversation up again, a sympathetic smile being sent her way from her father.

Leo's little brother, Alejandro, sat smugly (not that she could really tell, as his face was blank, but she just knew) in his seat, playing one of the many video game devices that Leo can't ever keep track of.

Sam sat squished in the middle. She looked vaguely uncomfortable, but Leo supposed that was to be expected. Her aunt was on a business trip all week, so Sam was staying with Leo and her family. It wasn't until Thursday, though, that they found out they were going to visit Leo's insane grandparents.

"Alejo, your eyes are going to fall out, if you keep playing those games." Leo said casually. The nine-year-old didn't even look up, though Leo was sure that he started to squint.

She smiled, before tucking a purple strand of hair behind her ear, and smiling at Sam.

"_Mis abuelos sólo hablan español, por lo que esta será una buena práctica para ti_." Leo said. Her mom impatiently groaned, while Sam looked a little nervous about her Spanish speaking skills.

"Leona!" Leo cringed. "Your _abuelos_ know English!" Leo rolled her eyes.

"I know. But they only speak Spanish." Maribelle huffed and crossed her arms, glaring out of the window. Leo rolled her eyes again.

"_Drama queen,_" She mouthed to Sam. Sam smiled anxiously. Leo's family was much louder (quite like Leo, actually) than her own, and it was slightly uncomfortable.

But she liked it.

* * *

"Oh!" Leo's grandma flew down the steps of the cute little house. She tackled her grandkids in, well, a tackle, while her husband chuckled on the porch. Maribelle and Guillermo swerved around their suffocating children to greet their father and father-in-law respectively, while Sam stayed by the car awkwardly watching.

Leo's _abuela _noticed the girl first, loosening her grip enough for Leo to escape and take several steps back.

"¿_Quién es, cariño?" _Leo's _abuela_ asked. Leo looked back at her friend.

"This is Sam, _abuela._" Leo grabbed Sam's arm and jerked her forward. "Sam, my _abuela_, Lucia." Sam waved awkwardly.

Lucia studied Sam for a moment, before smiling warmly and releasing Alejo (who immediately ran for cover inside after hugging his _abuelo_), and pulling a mildly startled Sam into a hug. She returned it out of habit, and found that Leo's grandma gave really good hugs that reminded her of her own grandmother.

Manuel, Leo's _abuelo_, came down from the porch and hugged his granddaughter before shaking hands with Sam.

"Call us Lucia and Manuel, Sam." Lucia said, attempting to comfort the girl. Sam smiled.

* * *

She was gonna commit violent acts. She swore under her breath, hoping her father never knew she used such language.

Sam was locked in the bathroom. But, apparently, Leo's mischievous brother decided to do more than that.

While she was showering, he came in and took her clothes. She didn't really want to think about what he did with them.

She could hear Leo stomping around the house, looking for Alejo, and having no luck so far.

See, a couple of years ago, the bathroom door had to be replaced. The people who replaced it put it on backwards (but not before they broke everything else and were subsequently fired), so it locked from the outside. No one bothered to fix it, because Leo and Alejo wouldn't lock each other in, but no one thought to include Sam in this.

Now Alejo, along with the key, have disappeared, and Sam and Leo were both spitting mad. The adults had gone out, trusting that the kids wouldn't burn the house down.

Leo wished they were here now, even if it meant enduring her _abuelo _telling stories and her _abuela_ and mother groaning about her appearance.

"Alejo, I swear on Pachirisu, if you don't bring me the key to the bathroom door in the next five seconds, I'm gonna throw your video games out the window!" Leo scooped up the gaming device that Alejo didn't think to hide (well, he is only nine).

In two seconds, Alejo came running into the room, and tossed the key to Leo. Leo caught it, and let her brother snatch the PSP from her hands. He dove into the corner of the room, huddled around it, and hissed at his sister.

Leo rolled her eyes and left, walking down the hall to where Sam was trapped.

"Finally! Wait, what about my clothes?" Sam exclaimed, before stopping, and taking in her towel clad body.

Leo turned toward the bedroom and shouted something in Spanish that Sam didn't understand. She had a feeling it was a threat, though, considering how quickly Alejo appeared, and handed over Sam's clothes.

Well, that, and Leo's satisfied smile.

* * *

**Eh.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I swear, it's like you **_**like**_** to remind me of my status as just a fan and not owner. . .**

* * *

Jake Ely woke to the sound of his idiot youngest-older brother singing in the shower.

Jake groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow with him. After five minutes, Quinn got out of the shower and came back into the room he shared with Jake.

Smirking, Quinn threw a dirty shirt on Jake.

"What? Don't like my singing?" He teased lightly. It was difficult these days to get Jake to smile. Of course, it had always been hard—Sam had been the only one who truly managed it.

And Sam wasn't here.

"You're going to be late for your first day of high school!" Quinn cheered. Jake moaned something that sounded uncomplimentary.

"Come on! You can't sulk forever, Baby Bear." That got him a pillow to the face, but he continued. "It's not like Sam would be here to hold your hand anyway. She'll only be in the seventh grade." Jake propped himself on his elbows and glared fiercely at his brother.

Ever since the accident earlier this summer, no one could mention Sam's name without being subjected to Jake. He only had two modes when Sam was mentioned: angry—which he was right now—or he got a depressed, kicked puppy look on his face. Everyone knew that if he knew he looked like that, he'd shut down.

"I-," Whatever Jake was going to say (Quinn thought this was a good thing) was cut off by their mother yelling for them to get up.

Jake scowled at Quinn, then rolled out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Quinn heard him shut the door firmly.

* * *

Jake walked the halls of Darton High by himself.

His best friend (his dude best friend), Darrel, was a year younger than him, and so was still in middle school.

Though later he'd tell Darrel that it was no big deal, he could feel the nerves coiling in his stomach. Jake walked close to the lockers to avoid being shoved aside by the seniors. As it was, he was having people shoved into him.

Jake steadfastly ignored it all, and walked to his third period classroom. History. The one his mother taught.

Jake groaned at the thought, possibly the only outward emotion he'd expressed since he got to school.

He didn't love the idea of having his mother teach his class, especially because he knew she'd use it as an opportunity to make sure he was all right—a better opportunity than she'd gotten all summer.

He walked into the classroom and sat in the middle row. The theory behind this was that no one paid attention to the average kids in the middle, and Jake has always done everything he can to blend in. (Which he always found hard whenever he was in Sam's presence)

The girl on his right glanced at him briefly, before blushing and turning to the board. Jake suppressed another groan. The last thing he wanted was to get swept up in the reputation his brothers had created.

Mrs. Ely walked into the room from her adjoining office and started the class with roll call.

* * *

Forty-five agonizing minutes later, Jake left is subtle mother and walked to the cafeteria.

Jake grabbed two slices of pizza (a special first day treat) and turned to the rest of the room to find a table. There weren't many unoccupied, but Jake managed to find one in the back corner.

He set his tray down and swallowed the pizza, trying to not think about what Sam would be doing now (and failing). They were in the same time zone, so maybe she was at lunch. Or she could be in class. Jake silently hoped (even more silent than thoughts usually are) that no one was harassing her. He knew, not from personal experience, but from observing, that most kids in middle school are cruel.

Even though, had she been here, he still wouldn't have been able to protect her, he could still listen to her after school.

Jake developed the kick puppy look. He doubted that after what had happened, she would ever want to speak to him again.

Jake finished his pizza, thinking that even when Sam came back, she might not become his friend again.


End file.
